Tag Archives: marine wedding

The morning of the wedding was incredibly peaceful. Anything that wasn’t perfect was just dropped, and I knew the things that mattered would fall into place. My girls and I did a little bible reading and prayer time before getting ready. Prepping for the day was a breeze. Chris slept in until he had to get dressed for the first look, which was done behind the groomsmen cabin. The first look location was perfect: romantic and natural. Chris’ favorite moment of the day was turning around and seeing me in my dress. I loved the intimacy of that moment. My favorite moment was sharing our private and personal vows in the gazebo. Then we were rushed off to the ceremony, which was mostly a blur. One of the most memorable moments for me was at the last second, our brothers decided to switch mothers to demonstrate that we were all family. My brother who was originally supposed to escort our mom ended up escorting Chris’ mom, and Chris’ brother escorted my mom. Chris surprised me by having our dear friend who officiated translate parts of the ceremony speech into Serbian, my first language. Our rings were left in the bridal suite up the hill, creating a comical moment during the ring exchange. Thankfully my bridesmaids had two rings between them that we used as props (something borrowed?). The first kiss was magical, walking together was just right. The family photos were done in true Todorovich-Webster fashion: chaotic, fun, and full of love. I was so surprised to see how well everyone connected. This was even more evident during the toasts. We had planned for only the Maid of Honor and the Best Man to make a speech. But the microphone just kept getting passed along to other family members until everyone shared their feelings of our love. At the head table, we were crying laughing from the sweetness it all. Neither one of us had ever felt so much love all at once.

While planning, we both immediately knew we wanted to be outdoors. Every banquet hall and chapel we visited had the same stifled air about it. Being in nature was a necessity. Given the craziness of both of our families and the excitement of the wedding day itself, being surrounded by peaceful, steady nature helped us really center ourself on what matters: our love. It was a perfect balance. The rest of the decor had to honor the nature. Our florist used mostly flowers and greenery native to the mountain, and then only ones that would complement them. Our whole aura is romance, so of course my bridesmaids were in a deep red, and his groomsmen had deep red velvet ties. It all came together better than I imagined. Romance and nature.

Chris’ advice for anyone planning their wedding is simply don’t stress. Make a list, delegating tasks to each person. Take time to snuggle and focus on the whole reason you’re getting married. My advice would include a wedding journal as well. From day one, I wrote absolutely everything wedding-related in my journal, even information I thought might be useless. It just really helped to have all of my thoughts, ideas, documented conversations, timelines, etc all in one place. And also don’t stress. So many things were imperfect about my wedding. In the end none of those details matter. If you go home with a spouse you absolutely adore, you had a successful wedding.